Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books, and we had lots of surprises. My first round of starts/sits was up-and-down, I’ll admit, because I made some great picks and some bad ones. Last week, I told you to start Cooper Kupp, which paid off massively as he racked up 32 fantasy points. I also correctly called to sit Justin Herbert and Najee Harris, both of who scored less than 11 points. However, I did say to start Aaron Rodgers and Javonte Williams, which didn’t pay off for fantasy owners as both were very underwhelming. That won’t happen again. This week, I’m back with some more expert picks to guide you to victory in week 2 of the NFL season. 

Justin Fields - Start

Justin Fields was announced as the starter last week to fill in for the injured Russell Wilson, and reports are saying that he’s likely gonna play again on Sunday. And if he’s starting for Pittsburgh, he should be starting for your fantasy team as well. 

Many fantasy managers will be tempted to stay away from Fields after his 11-point performance in week 1, but I assure you that he is an insane play on Sunday against Denver. Last year when Fields visited Denver in week 4, he finished with 335 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, landing him as one of the highest finishers that week. The Broncos defense is incredibly mediocre even despite superstars such as Pat Surtain, and they were bottom ten in passing defense in 2023. This is one of the best matchups Fields should have all season.

The biggest upside Justin Fields has in terms of fantasy is his rushing ability. He had 124 carries in 2023 for nearly 700 ground yards, which was massive in terms of his fantasy output. Despite only finishing with 11 fantasy points, he had another 14 carries last week and was relatively unlucky to not score a touchdown. You can bet on the former Heisman winner to rack up points on Sunday and if you don’t have one of the top QBs, Fields is an easy choice.

Derek Carr - Sit

I know he had a really big game in week 1, but I’m hesitant to take any performance that happens against Carolina very seriously. Derek Carr is a must-sit this week and there are plenty of better options that you can find on waivers.

Derek Carr opened the 2024 season with a 21 point performance against the Carolina Panthers. He was extremely efficient: he had 3 touchdowns and no turnovers, with just 4 incompletions. This may cause many fantasy managers to plug him into their lineups, but you need to remember: He was playing the Carolina Panthers, who are one of the worst NFL teams I have seen in a while. They’ve been bottom feeders for several years, and are severely lacking in any big-name playmakers. I confidently believe many quarterbacks in this league could put up a top performance against them.

Derek Carr doesn’t provide much fantasy upside. He’s a solid passer, but he’s not very mobile and his value is touchdown-dependent. In week 2, he’s playing arguably the worst defense he could face: the Dallas Cowboys. This defense completely shut down Deshaun Watson and the Browns in their 2024 debut thanks to playmakers like Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs, and were an absolute wrecking ball for opposing teams last season. Their elite pass rush should give Carr problems all game, and his top receiver Chris Olave might struggle to find separation against Diggs and the rest of the secondary. Carr is in for a nightmare matchup on Sunday. Start someone else.

Start - J.K. Dobbins

Like I said with Derek Carr, it feels impossible not to have a big day against Carolina. They have both a bottom-tier passing defense and rushing-defense, and now they are facing a running back who averaged over 13 yards a carry in week 1. The move is obvious.

J.K. Dobbins has been quietly one of the most efficient running backs in the past few years when healthy; the problem is he couldn’t stay on the field. He missed the majority of his games over the past 3 seasons with injury, which kept him sidelined despite the fact that he’s averaged 6.1 yards per carry in his career. He was finally in full fitness week 1 against Las Vegas, where he absolutely exploded. His statline went as follows - 10 carries, 135 yards and a touchdown. The only potential concern is that teammate Gus Edwards had one more carry than Dobbins, but I think we can reasonably expect the coaching staff to make some changes to the game plan for week 2: Dobbins had 5 times as many rushing yards as Edwars despite this slight deficit in volume.

I can’t overstate how abysmal this Panthers team is. They allowed 34 combined fantasy points to Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams in their first matchup, and lost the actual game 10-47. Again, this team is terrible. The Saints aren’t a bad team, but they aren’t a superteam that is regularly capable of scoring 47 points. J.K. Dobbins should feast against this defense.

Zamir White - Sit

Zamir White getting outperformed in fantasy by Alexander Mattison was one of the surprises of week 1, with White failing to eclipse 5 fantasy points against a weak Chargers defense. He was ineffective in the run game and almost completely irrelevant in the passing game. On top of that, he received only 23 carries, while Mattison received 36. He’s a bad option in week 2.

The Chiefs defense has been one of the top units for several years now, and a big reason as to why the team has been so successful. They held Derrick Henry to just 3.5 yards per carry in week 1, and the dominant Mahomes-led offense forced the Ravens to divert to a primary-passing attack for most of the game to keep up. Chances are Las Vegas will be throwing the ball non-stop by the second half if they want any chance of defeating the reigning champions - and Zamir White conceded most of the passing volume to Mattison last week. Don’t start White unless you have no other option. 

Start - Keon Coleman

This is a slightly more risky pick, but a pick with lots of boom potential. Keon Coleman has only played one game, but there’s plenty of reason to signal a potential breakout performance against Miami on Thursday Night Football.

Despite being a rookie, Coleman led Buffalo in targets and yards against Arizona on Sunday. He displayed his talent and archetype as a physical, deep-ball threat that quarterback Josh Allen should pair nicely with. This Miami defense isn’t a bad defense, but this divisional matchup has had some high-scoring outings in the past and the Bills offense was on fire in week 1. Josh Allen looked as elite as ever, and he still needs a playmaker to fill the void of his top two receivers from last year: Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis both left in the offseason. Keon Coleman was drafted as a rookie to make an immediate impact, so you better believe that Allen’s preparing to build some chemistry with his new teammate early.

Miami’s defense allowed the 8th most passing touchdowns in the league last season, and the 10th most plays of over 40 yards. Keon Coleman won’t rack up a crazy high number of targets or volume, but he has big-play potential and has the chance to show it on Thursday night. There’s a very plausible possibility he makes a big play or two that could propel his fantasy output, which gives him some very attractive upside for managers. If you don’t have any elite options, Coleman is a boom-or-bust pick with sky-high potential. 

Jayden Reed - Sit

Completely ignore the 33 point performance in week 1. Jayden Reed is a very risky starter in week 2 for several reasons.

First of all, it’s impossible to look at Reed’s week 1 statline and say that it didn’t look like a complete fluke. I’m not saying Reed is a bad player - he could be a rising star as the season goes on - but he’s not lined up for any success this week. Against Philadelphia, over 70% of Reed’s points came off just two big plays - not a good sign. He had only 4 catches and averaged 38.5 yards a carry, and the chances of him scoring another 70-yard touchdown this week are low. While Reed had 6 targets on Friday, teammates Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson had 7 and 6, respectively. Reed is still not the clear WR1 in this offense and faces difficult competition. 

On the other hand, Jordan Love suffered an injury at the end of the game against the Eagles and will miss several weeks. Backup QB Malik Willis has little NFL experience and mostly relies on his mobility, so we can expect to see a heavy rushing attack this week from Green Bay. Reed may have a decent amount of targets, but it’s unlikely these targets will put him in place for another successful fantasy day. Don’t be surprised if he puts up below 10 points.